A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year
The startup made the programmer what it thought was a big offer: a $500,000 salary.
"He blew us off," said the founder.
The programmer told the startup thanks for the offer, but Google was currently paying him $3 million per year in cash and restricted stock units.
Time to quit your target school and enroll in some online C# classes? Or is finance still a more attractive route given that you don't really need any hard skills beside the ability to withstand constant abuse, work 100 hours a week, fulfill monkey tasks and be able abandon your social life / friends / family for a theoretical shoot at $$$?
I like the name - just bought SVOasis.com and SiliconValleyOasis.com :-)
Bro...have I not been saying this for like three years now??? lol
doesn't mean I'll actually do anything with the domains...lol
yes, people have pitched me on a variety of "Oasis" communities, few who know what it takes or how hard it is to build from the ground up.
holy SHIT, 3 mil in cash and stock??
Yes, those jobs exist but no different thangraduating first out of HBS these guys graduate in similar with either M.S. or eventual PhD in Computer Science. There are tons of average 6 figures though. GOOG, MSFT, Expedia, Amazon, FB, AAPL, Juniper Networks. -- All of these are well above the common average $150,000 or so not counting bonuses. There are plenty of higher positions that meet the $500K.
In before IP sees this thread and begins referencing it mercilessly.
I left banking after a year, and the times are 'a changin
Catered meals every day, unlimited vacation, work from home, wear whatever you want...
Our software engineers are getting paid 120k right out of school and only end up putting in 35 hrs a week
But you get so much more respect and upside and preftige in banking! Why would you ever want to give up 100 hour work weeks and the chance to tell your friends/people who care that you're an investment banker?
Because you will have no friends/people who care.... (joke)
One thing I learned really early in life is that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is... I'm not calling you a liar, but something's gotta give here. Between this post and the stuff IP is constantly throwing around it sounds like if you are a capable programmer and have a pulse you get a golden ticket the land of milk, honey and all things good.
What value is an entry level software engineer providing that warrants 120k for 35hrs/wk? Honestly curious.
Here's your answer:
http://pando.com/2014/01/03/young-techies-know-your-place/
At the risk of sounding cliché, it's a new paradigm. All the stupid shit you were fed your whole life that led you to banking they just simply dismiss out of hand.
This is pretty much reality, with very above and beyond perks. They handle all, dry cleaning, you name it because it helps you focus more on your work at hand. Now, 35 hours? I'll call BS on 35 hours because if you are working at one of the bigger dogs (apple, fb, google) they work non-stop. But then again, they don't mind it given how cushy of a life they develop for those guys on the campuses and add bonuses and such and those guys make some very nice livings.
FB's campus has a dentist and doctors office, bank, candy shops, barber shops, bicycles to use commuting around, sushi/Mexican/pizzeria/burger and bbq restaurants.
People talk about banking being dead costs and something to outsource. What about programming? At least in banking you need fluent English and relationships. What is the barrier to entry to the billion Chinese and billion Indians, all of which have engineering and computer science backgrounds?
I am sorry, but people cannot put stock in fads like this. Top people always make a lot of money, but there are plenty of broke programmers out there.
I am sorry but being a top paid programmer at Facebook/Google is the equivalent of working at GS or Blackstone out of undergrad. How about we paint a more normalized picture of things.
And lets not ignore the 2 billion people overseas, all of who love engineering and comp science, that would work for a fraction of what FB/GOOG is paying. Oh and unlike finance, English fluency isn't going to be a hindrance.
Every 4 months this tech vs. finance shit pops up. Never understand why. I don't exactly love finance but would kill myself coding every day. Boooorrrriiiiinnnnggggg.
I agree that this is a flash in the pan, and 10 years from now it will be something else. But the only reason I got into finance was the money - because that's where the money was at that time. Now the money is over here in tech. So that's where you'd find me if I were a young person today. Did you know that for $9,000 (the tuition is $12,000 but they rebate you $3,000 when you get hired) you could spend 9 weeks in training and be virtually guaranteed a $70,000 starting salary the week after you graduate? And that's someone basically starting from scratch.
You guys know I didn't go to college, and I got to watch the marketplace evolve into a situation where a college degree was more or less mandatory if you wanted to make any real money. I'm one of the last guys who actually landed a Wall Street gig with a high school diploma, and that's because I worked my way up from the boiler rooms. Now we're in a situation where a kid right out of high school can get hired for near 6-figures, or choose to work freelance for more than $100 an hour. I happen to think that's awesome, and it has the ancillary benefit of actually providing some real world utility - unlike banking.
So I say good for these kids, and if I were a young person in high school or college today I'd be having second, third, and fourth thoughts about entering an industry of hyper-regulation, disappearing opportunities, and shrinking comp. I'd be eating at the nerd table for sure, and chuckling under my breath at what lie in store for the lax bros headed off to finance jobs.
This thread seems to be engineering in a tech firm vs banking. But there are business positions at a tech firm e.g. corporate development, business strategy. Isn't it worth comparing this to banking instead of engineering to banking (the former would have similar skillets to compare).
I'm a first generation college grad so I've witnessed how the job market has changed for my parents as I've grown up and think it's pretty damn cool how something has come along that allows people to make a decent living without having formal higher education.
My problem with those numbers is that the only place someone is going to get those salary figures out of high school is in the bay area. And 70k in the bay area is equivalent to about 30-35k in a low COL area. You're certainly not ballin' in SF on 70k and doing the same job in Cincinnati, OH is going to get you 35k.
Interesting debate. I tend to believe that the role of programmer will shift and reward programmers who demonstrate creativity, effective design, strategic thinking. The "programmer" will evolve and get more involved with the business.
Also, LOL at anyone who thinks "free online programming resources" are even remotely comprable to "Software engineering degree from elite undergrad (or any undergrad)"
I don't know if you're directing that at me, but I was simply talking about how much more available information is today.
The Flatiron school ,right? I agree, make money while you can. Personally, I consider finance a long term career. More than happy to slog it out vs. chase what is hot.
To each their own though.
This reminds me of the kid who dreams in code.
Yay, another tech vs. banking topic
As mentioned before, what about a finance job in tech vs. wall street?
Twitter apparently offered a 2012 grad $100k base, $30k bonus, and 16,000 RSUs, which would be worth approximately $992,000 at today's share prices. That blows even those ridiculous prop trading $400k starting comp packages out of the water. It's no wonder Wall Street is losing talent to tech. Their exit opportunity is entrepreneurship.
I can confirm these figures. Also, the RSU had a hold period of only 1 year or so, so I know guys who cashed out after the IPO and left to start their own ventures.
startup or IB?
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